This invention relates in general to floatation sleep systems, and more particularly to a deck for supporting the bladder of a floatation sleep system.
Floatation sleep systems have of recent had a wide acceptance as an alternative sleep system to conventional bedding due to the superior restful sleepinducing properties resulting from the uniform distribution of body pressure over the sleep surface. A typical floatation sleep system comprises a fluid-filled, flexible-walled bladder supported on a pedestal covered by a platform or deck. The pedestal and deck are constructed of rigid structural material so as to substantially uniformly distribute the weight of the bladder. Such structural material is, for example, wood or a wood composition such as flake or particle board.
A commercial limitation faced by the floatation sleep industry has been that the typical pedestal and deck construction, as generally supplied by the industry, has prevented trade to that segment of the market which desires to personally carry out the complete floatation sleep system from the retail outlet and set up the system on their own. This is because the size and weight of the pedestal and deck do not easily lend themselves to ordinarily available transportation or ready set up.
Since the bladder of the floatation sleep system is compact and light weight (before being filled with fluid), it has a strong appeal over conventional bedding to the above mentioned market segment. Therefore, strong efforts have been made to make transportation and set up of the pedestal and deck easier. For example, the pedestal and deck can be made in readily assemblable pieces such as shown in my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 712,629, filed Mar. 18, 1985. Alternatively, as shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,705, issued Sept. 30, 1980, the pedestal can be made in a form which permits it to be readily collapsed for transportation to the customer site and easily expanded for set up. While such arrangements facilitate transport to the customer's site, considerable labor is still required for complete set up of the pedestal and deck. Moreover, the deck, in and of itself, does not have a finished appearance which would give the floatation sleep system a high quality look. Accordingly it is generally required that the deck have additional framing such as to cover the bare marginal perimeter of the board structure making up the deck.